Ethan Pasternak

People think that ice is unyielding, but if you’re precise, if you’re focused and calm, it can give your skates wings.

b.1998

Juneau, AK

Coach

Sergei Maslov

Choreographer

Viktor Bartók

Ethan Pasternak was born on November 1, 1998 in Juneau, Alaska and learned to skate at the tender age of two. His parents, Fiona and Piotr, brought him to the city rink during summers and Mendenhall Lake in the winter. A child prodigy, Ethan surprised all the local skate club instructors when he performed a double axel at only five years of age. Mrs. Pasternak has often recalled that Ethan seemed more comfortable on skates than on his feet. Ethan was always dedicated to the sport, spending up to six hours each day skating.

He drew the attention of renowned coach Sergei Maslov as the youngest competitor in the 2010 Pacific Northwest Skating Championships. Under Mr. Maslov’s training, Ethan has become widely recognized as one of the world’s most talented young skaters to date. Ethan enjoys traveling and competing, but loves coming back home to skate by the Juneau Ice Fields. His fondest and earliest memory is skating on Mendenhall Lake in late January 2002. Weaving figure-eights at dusk, he listened to his skates echo against the calm, ancient glacier. From that moment forward, Ethan never wanted to leave the ice.

Titles

2017

GSL Junior Grand Prix Ljubljana

JUNIOR MEN, 4TH

U.S.A. Championships

JUNIOR MEN, 1ST

2016

GSL Junior World Championships

JUNIOR MEN, 9TH

U.S.A. Championships

JUNIOR MEN, 2ND

2015

International Challenge Tournament

JUNIOR MEN, 4TH

U.S.A. Championships

JUNIOR MEN, 3RD

West Coast Championships

JUNIOR MEN, 1ST

2014

U.S.A. Championships

NOVICE MEN, 2ND

Pacific Northwest Championships

NOVICE MEN, 1ST

2013

U.S.A. Championships

NOVICE MEN, 4TH

Pacific Northwest Championships

NOVICE MEN, 2ND

West Coast Regional Championships

NOVICE MEN, 2ND

Stats

Personal Best GSL Total

169.84

GSL Short Program

61.79

GSL Free Skating

108.05

Ethan won his first championship title at age fourteen in 2012. It had been his first time traveling outside Alaska. Seeing a city like Seattle for the first time and competing with other talented skaters really motivated him to try something different with his routine. Mr. Maslov trusted the young teen and helped him practice at night. Ethan took home 2nd place with a double Axel, double toe-loop combo. However, due to his unconventional music choice, “Long River” by Aurora Falls, the judges only gave him an 8.9 score.

Undeterred, Ethan continued to bring his talent and unique vision to the ice. During his performance at the West Coast Championships in 2014, he gracefully executed a triple Salchow followed by a flying combination spin. Choreographed to Nayantara Kani’s “Vibravado”, Ethan’s performance landed him 1st place with a score of 9.7.

At the 2016 U.S.A. Championships Ethan took home first place by performing a quad lutz-triple toe loop combination. He ended the performance on a level 4 spin with a +3 grade of execution. By setting traditional choreography against Gravity’s rock-infused cover of Nocturne, Ethan earned a score of 9.9.

Currently, Ethan is working on the quadruple Axel, a move that has yet to be successfully implemented by any skater. So far he is 3.85 turns in.